Device for separating flat objects according to their linear dimensions



Jan. 17, 9 JEAN-PAUL MORICET 3,298,517

DEVICE FOR SEPARATING' FLAT OBJECTS ACCORDING TO THEIR LINEAR DIMENSIONS2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001?. 27, I964 FIG. 3

m. M u n a 1 a 1967 v JEAN-PAUL MORICET 3,293,517

DEVICE FOR SEPARATING FLAT OBJECTS ACCORDING TO THEIR LINEAR DIMENSIONSFiled Oct. 27, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JEAN- p 01. MOE IC 7 B) W 8 ,?/v

1977- ENG) United States Patent DEVICE FOR SEPARATING FLAT OBJECTS AC-CORDING TO THEIR LINEAR DIMENSIONS Jean-Paul Moricet, Sevres, France,assignor to Compagnie Generale dAutomatisme, Paris, France, acorporation of France 1 Filed Oct. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 406,745 Claimspriority, application France, Nov. 12, 1963,

3,379 20 Claims. (Cl. 209-84) This invention relates more particularlyto a device, which is part of an equipment such as, for instance, one ofthe type of that called segregator, the aim of which is to makeautomatically, out of sets of flat objects such as the content of postalbags, piles of objects, such as envelopes, having uniform dimensions, inorder to allow the carrying out of the classifying operations by highcapacity machines. Among the operations which are necessary 'for thispurpose, there is the separation according to the rectangular dimensionsof the postal envelopes or of the fiat objects of a set. 1

The object of this invention is more particularly a machine whichclassifies into two batches the envelopes arriving individually: theenvelopes for which the rectangular dimensions are lower than a criticallength, or

separation modulus m, and the envelopes for which the rectangulardimensions are larger than the modulus m.

The object of the invention is a separation process for flat objectssuch as postal envelopes or the. like according to their dimensions,particularly remarkable in that the objects are classified by passingthem through an arrangement of fingers in the manner of the pegs of arake or the'like. Advantageously, the objects are guided betweensurfaces which are approximately vertical or slightly slanting, possiblysplayed out towards the top, and the fingers are moving, this movementbeing preferably a uniform translation.

Another object of theinvention is a device for implementing theabove-mentioned process, particularly remarkable in that it comprisestwo fiat channel sections in prolongation one of the other, togetherwith classifying means located between them, the small objects passingthrough both sections while the large objects are carried laterally bysaid means. Preferably, the upper channel is splayed towards the top andis shaped as a spout. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention,the above-mentioned segregating means are made up of a fingerarrangement, forming the pegs of a rake or the like, which may movealong a direction approximately crosswise to the above-mentionedchannel, and preferably substantially perpendicular to the plane of saidchannel.

According to the invention, a machine for classifying fiat objects withreference to a modulus m comprises essentially, on a stand, thefollowing members:

A first spout or channel section, having a V shape, with approximately avertical plane of symmetry, opened by a slot, at the bottom, on all itslength.

Close below the slot of the above-mentioned spout, an arrangement fordimensional classification formed by a line of horizontal fingers,perpendicular to the slot, spaced from side to side by a distance in andfastened to a moving flexible endless band, which imparts to saidfingers a translation motion along the slot of the first spout.

Below the lower side of the above-mentioned fingers, a second spout,made up with two vertical surfaces and opened at top and bottom.

Below the above-mentioned second spout, an endless conveyor band.

A first transfer station for the envelopes, the dimensions of which aresmaller than the distance m and which are called small envelopes.

Patented Jan. 17, 1967 A second transfer station for the envelopes, thedimen sions of which are larger than the distance in, and which arecalled large envelopes.

The envelopes individually dropped into the top of the V-shaped spout,at one of its ends, arrive at the slot standing on their edge. The smallenvelopes fall between two adjacent fingers, pass between the walls ofthe second spout, their edge rests on the conveyor band, which carriesthem towards the first transfer station. The large envelopes are heldtrapped between two adjacentfingers and are carried-by the movingfingers to the second transfer station. The critical length m, which isthe segregation basis can be adjusted by multiple integers of a unitlength, or pitch.

The various components of the machine will be described with referenceto the accompanying drawings which show a nonlimitative example ofembodiment of the machine.

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the whole of the machine;

FIGURE 2 is a section along the plane AA;

FIGURE 3 shows the fastening of a finger;

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 aredesign details relevant to the transfer of thelarge envelopes. r

In FIGURE 1, the V-shaped spout 1 is made up of two side plates 1a, 1band comprises a terminal part 10, which receives the envelopes to beclassified with regard to their dimensions. The fingers, such as 2, arecarried by the endless band 2a,. which is. held by thewheels 2b, 2c. Thedriving wheel 2b is driven, via the shaft 2d, by the motor unit 3 andthe pulley 4. One of the side plates 5a of the second spout 5 can beseen.. A conveyor band 6 is driven via roller 60 by said pulley 4. Thewheel 21) rotating as shown bythe arr-ow f and the roller 60 by thearrow f the fingers 2 which move between the two spouts, and the upperside 6a moving below the .second spout, all have velocities in the samedirection.

A small envelope such as 7a falls tothe bottom of the second spout.Another, 7b, previously introduced, arrives near the end of said spout,where is provided the first transfer station mentioned above,constituted by a mere open box 8. Another small envelope 7c is shown asit is being poured into the transfer station 8.

The second transfer station is shown in 10, it is driven by the motor11. A large envelope 9a, trapped between a pair of fingers can be seen.Another one, 9b, is being transferred by the second transfer station10.v The third large envelope is shown at the outlet of the secondtransfer station 10. The third large envelope is shown at the outlet ofthe second transfer station 10. The large envelope transfer station 10will be described hereunder with reference to FIGURES 4, 5 and 6.

In the sectional view of FIGURE 2, 1a and 1b are the two sides of theV-shaped spout, M is the bottom slot of said V-shaped spout; 5a and 5bare the two sides of the second spout; 2 is a finger fastened onto theflexible band 2a; 6a and 6b are the two sides of the conveyor band 6. Asmall envelope 7a is shown resting on its edge on the upper side 6a ofthe conveyor band 6 and a large envelope 9a is shown resting on thefinger 2.

FIGURE 2 shows at the upper edge of the V-shaped spout an eccentricwinch 12. The function of this member is as follows: the comprehensiveequipment for segregation according to linear dimensions comprises, onprinciple, not only one machine but a plurality of machines set side byside. It may happen, under these conditions, that, when pouring theenvelopes into the upper part of the V-shaped spouts, some of theenvelopes remain in equilibrium on the two adjacent edges of twoneighbouring V-shaped spouts. An eccentric winch such as shown in 12 ofFIGURE 2 will then hit such an envelope and make it fall into cit-herone of the two neighbouring V-shaped spouts. A number of such eccentricwinches are installed in the loading areas of the V-shaped spouts, thatis, along raised parts such as 1c.

FIGURE 3 shows on a larger scale a sectional view of the conveyor band2a fitted witha finger 2. This band, of trapeziform section, slides intoa lower Wooden spout 20, which has a section adequate for housing saidband and is restrained at the top by the wooden batten 2f. In this way,the conveyor band cannot sag under the weight of the envelopes restingon the fingers.

FIGURE 3 also shows a finger 2 comprising a head 2g and a thinner end211, which penetrates a plain hole provided in the band 2a. On the backside of the conveyor band 2, the end of this finger is held by anelastic snapring 2 pushed into the groove 2k. Mounting the fingers ishence an easy task.

The band is provided with holes, the axes of which are separated by arelatively small distance, or pitch, for example p=20 mm. Theabove-mentioned segregation modulus is adjusted by letting a certainnumber n of holes non-used between two holes fitted with successivefingers. Letting d be the diameter of the fingers, the segregationmodulus m is given by the relation: v

It is hence easy to vary it by an inte'ger, of the pitch p.

FIGURE 4 shows an isometric view of the large envelope transfer stationseen from the apposite side as com,- pared to FIGURE 1. It comprises anendless conveyor band 101 with vertical translation driven by a motor102 via a belt 103 and a roller 104 with an axis 105, which is held bytwo channels 106 mounted on the machine stand. FIGURE 4 shows only theupper part of the channels. At the level of the roller 104, severalendless belts rub against the upper part of the band101, while one ofthe two strands bears on its fullleng'thupon the band 101. Three ofthese endless belts 107, 1108, 109 are shown on FIGURE 4: they go aroundthe same upper spindle 110, which is carried by said channels 106. Thedistance between the axes 105 and 110, determined by drillings into thechannels 106, ensures the required rubbing force magnitude so as toenable the transfer station to operate under the best conditions. Thelower parts of the belts go around individual pulleys 111, 112, 113.Each of these pulleys is held in a fork, three forks 114, 115, 116 beingshown, the first two being shown only partially for clarity purposes.The fork 116 is pushed by compression of the spring 117, resting on thethrust plate 118 attached to the stand of the machines, towards theconveyor band 101. The belt 109 is thus held in contact with the band101 on the full length of the strand facing said band. The pressureexerted by the belt 109 upon the band 101 can be adjusted by setting theposition of the thrust plate 118 by means not shown.

The other forks 114, 115 are similarly mounted. It hence results thatthe three belts 107, 108, 109 are all held in contact with the band 101with a force which can be set for each individual belt. Being of roundsection, they have a better adherence than if they were rectangular insection, since they flatten out more easily.

FIGURE 6 is an end view of the whole arrangement. The numbers designatethe same items as in FIGURES 3 and 4 respectively. The arrows shown inthe figure help understand the kinematic relationship between the movingparts.

FIGURE 5 is an elevation of the transfer arrangement. It is a schematicview. The lengths of the belts 107, 108, 109 are selected so that theaxis of the lower pulleys be alined on a line making a angle with thehorizontal. This 45 value was preferentially selected since it is thestatistically most probable angle value which the side of an envelope 9bmakes when it reaches the transfer station.

Should the envelope be caught in one point only by rubbing between abelt such as, for instance, the belt 107, and the belt 101, it mightrotate around this point, and

this would impair the satisfactory operation of the transfer station.With the selected arrangement, the envelopes will be caughtsimultaneously in several points and will be raised smoothly, trappedbetween the band 101 and the belts 107, 108, 109.

Obviously, the number of belts needs not be 3 and their lengths might beselected according to other criteria without outgoing the scope oftheinvention.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for sortingobjects according to their dimensions,comprising:

a first vertically extending channel formed by two walls and open atboth the top and the bottom,

a movable sieve arranged'beneath the bottom opening of said channel andalong its length, operable to let the small objects pass through and tocarry the bigger objects from one end to the other end of said channel,

and means associated with said other end for gripping and verticallyevacuating the objects carried by said sieve, said means comprisingvertical conveyor means and means cooperating with said verticalconveyor means for applying said objects against the gripping surface ofsaid conveyor means.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said sieve comprises aseries of parallel, regularly spaced fingers substantially perpendicularto the lateral walls of said first channel, said fingers being securedto a movable member placed outside and laterally driven along saidchannel.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said movable member is aflexible belt cooperating with pulley means having the axis of rotationperpendicular to the horizontal plane. 7

.4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said belt comprises aseries ofregularly spaced holes, said fingers beingfitted into aplurality of holes of said series.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the portion of the fingersfitted into the holes of the flexible belt has a reduced diameter,extended through said belt, and comprises a transversal groove intowhich a snap ring is inserted for fastening said finger.

6. An apparatus according to claim 3, comprising guidemeans forsupporting and guiding said flexible belt along said first channel.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, comprising a first elongatedmember having agroove in which a lower part of the'flexible beltslidably engages and a second elongated member placed in sliding contactwith an upper part of said flexible belt for maintaining the engagementthereof with said first member.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said first and secondmembers are made of wood.

9. An apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a horizontal conveyorbelt situated beneath and along the length of said sieve and operable toevacuate the objects which have passed through said sieve.

10. An apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a horizontal conveyorbelt, situated beneath and along the length of said sieve and operableto evacuate the objects which have passed through the sieve, in the samedirection as the direction of the movement of said sieve.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, comprising driving means fordriving said sieve and said horizontal conveyor at equal speeds.

12. An apparatus according to claim 10, comprising a second verticallyextending channel open at both top and bottom, having substantially thesame width as said first channel, said second channel being placedbetween the sieve and the horizontal conveyor so as to guide the objectspassing through the sieve.

13. An apparatus according to claim 2, comprising means for feeding theobjects to be sorted and means for guiding said objects into said firstchannel.

14. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vertical conveyormeans is an endless conveyor belt and said means for applying theobjects comprises at least two vertical endless bands having diiferentlengths and mounted respectively on two pairs of pulleys, a first pulleyof each pair being rotatably mounted on a fixed horizontal shaft, asecond pulley of each pair being rotatably mounted on a horizontalmovable shaft, means for tightening said vertical bands and means forurging the surface of said vertical bands against the surface of thevertical conveyor belt.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said means fortightening the vertical bands and for urging the latter against thevertical conveyor belt comprise forkshaped supports holding anindividual shaft for each second pulley of each pair, and spring meansmechanically connecting each of said supports to a fixed portion of theapparatus.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said vertical bandshave a substantially round cross section.

17. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the centers of saidsecond pulleys of each pair are aligned along a straight line making anangle of 45 with the horizontal direction.

18. The apparatus according to claim 3, comprising:

a horizontal conveyor belt situated beneath and along the length of saidsieve,

a second vertically extending channel open at both top and bottom,having substantially the same width as and means cooperating with saidvertical conveyor means for applying said objects against the grippingsurface of said vertical conveyor means.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said fingers are fittedinto regularly spaced holes of the flexible belt, the end of the fingersextending through the flexible belt being fastened thereto by means ofsnap rings inserted into a transversal groove of said end,

said guide means for supporting and guiding the flexible belt includinga first elongated member having a longitudinal groove in which a lowerpart of the flexible belt is engaged, and a second elongated member inslidable contact with the belt for maintaining the engagement thereofwith the first elongated member.

20. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the means for applyingthe objects against the gripping surface of the vertical conveyorcomprise vertical bands having different lengths rotatably mounted ongrains of pulleys having horizontal shafts, one of the pulleys havingits shaft adjustable in position with respect to the gripping surface ofthe vertical conveyor belt.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,620,064 12/1952Thys 5 209-84X 2,840,236 6/1958 Belk 209-84 FOREIGN PATENTS 444,8192/1949 Italy.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner. ALLE K O LE m fl e

1. AN APPARATUS FOR SORTING OBJECTS ACCORDING TO THEIR DIMENSIONS,COMPRISING: A FIRST VERTICALLY EXTENDING CHANNEL FORMED BY TWO WALLS ANDOPEN AT BOTH THE TOP AND THE BOTTOM, A MOVABLE SIEVE ARRANGED BENEATHTHE BOTTOM OPENING OF SAID CHANNEL AND ALONG ITS LENGTH, OPERABLE TO LETTHE SMALL OBJECTS PASS THROUGH AND TO CARRY THE BIGGER OBJECTS FROM ONEEND TO THE OTHER END OF SAID CHANNEL,